


Wildflowers By The Sea

by GalaxyAqua



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, F/F, Hanahaki Disease, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 01:44:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12901308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyAqua/pseuds/GalaxyAqua
Summary: As the leaves fall and scatter in a spectacle of vibrant, warm colors, so too do your feelings – peach pink petals of an unspoken love fluttering to meet the horizon. From afar, they don’t seem so important, anymore.





	Wildflowers By The Sea

**Author's Note:**

> "The Hanahaki Disease is an illness born from one-sided love, where the patient throws up and coughs of flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love."

As the leaves fall and scatter in a spectacle of vibrant, warm colors, so too do your feelings – peach pink petals of an unspoken love fluttering to meet the horizon. From afar, they don’t seem so important, anymore. 

You dip your feet into the sea and quiet the ache in your chest with the thought of Chika’s smile. 

Chika had always been radiant – since you were children, she always glowed, bright as the sun as she held out her hands and beamed. Lively and full of song, she was like a sunny spring morning everyday, keeping you on your toes when you raced down the streets together, playing all sorts of ridiculous childhood games. She always seemed golden, with eyes filled with laughter and a sweet voice that called your name, over and over.

Now, she takes your breath away with every breath of her own, and you almost wonder why you didn’t notice earlier. 

You’ve suppressed the feelings, perhaps, ignored the twinge in your heart when you used to watch Chika look up at Kanan with sparkling eyes. The snap of your elastic emotions against your ribs when Chika found Riko for the first time and wouldn’t free the pianist from her clutches. When she chased Riko, for the melody only she could hear, for the music only Riko could play. 

Then Chika comes close to you, and you forget. 

All you can see is Chika, all you can feel is your love and your dread; threading together like tangled vines that tie you down. You blame your livid heartbeat on the thrill – be it dancing, swimming, anything. Anything but Chika. 

Because when you coughed up flowers for the first time, you didn’t want to face the truth.

You had entertained the thought of being in love with Chika before, but they were fleeting visions, dreams of sorts, where you had seen Chika’s adoring eyes looking back at you and she had laced your fingers together with a glowing smile. Where Chika had shown up outside your door with a confession like no other, and you had wiped tears off of her beautiful face one at a time. 

“I love you,” she’d say, burying her face in the crook of her neck. She’d smell like wildflowers and the ocean. “I love you, Watanabe You!” She’d repeat more passionately, every syllable of your name falling from her lips like the sweetest sound you’ve ever heard, “I love you so much!”

Your chest would well up with emotions and you’d feel like a firework, heat exploding all over as you held Chika tighter, held her slender frame as you sobbed in return, “I love you, too. I always have. I love you, Takami Chika, I love you with all my heart.” 

You have those dreams more often now – but they never end like you wish they did.

Sometimes Chika will stay quiet as you cry, threading her fingers through your hair and pressing her forehead against yours. Sometimes she’ll look into your eyes and murmur, like a cutting breeze, “I’m sorry, You-chan. I don’t love you the same way. I’m sorry.”

“It’s my fault,” you’d reply, because it’s the truth. 

You’re not sure what hurts more. You loving Chika like you promised yourself you wouldn’t, or Chika not loving you back. 

Maybe it doesn't matter. 

“It's not your fault,” Chika would assure you, “It was never your fault. It can't be helped.”

The petals continue to choke you, a delicate poison, and you might have cried once but you're out of tears and you just wished it would all go away. 

_ Why did you have to fall in love with Chika,  _ you lament, squeezing your chest as you reprimand yourself,  _ why did you have to ruin everything, you always ruin everything, why can’t you just be happy being her best, best friend, is that not enough –  _ your thoughts keep spiralling and you can’t stop them –  _ why? Why aren’t you happy with what you have?  _

“You-chan!” 

The thoughts stop immediately.

You jump, startled, and return to reality with the weak observation that your feet are getting cold. In your shock, a few more petals scatter from your open mouth. It's too late when you turn around and Chika’s there, frozen in a half-step as she takes in your shaking hands and the fragments of flowers that surround you. Your unrequited love drifting in the waves. 

“You-chan,” Chika repeats more quietly, hand raising slowly to her mouth. She takes that step forward. “Are – are you okay?”

There's not much you can say. You manage a weary smile. “Yeah,” you tell her, “I'm just fine.”

Chika knows you're lying, you can see it in her eyes, but she doesn't pursue it. She wades into the water beside you and plucks a petal from the sea, her expression soft. “These are really pretty flowers.” She says, raising it up. “Look! They match the sunset.”

You look at the spot of pink – your broken emotions that caused you so much grief – being held up so carefully by Chika’s gentle hands, and you find yourself laughing. “They do.” You tap your chin thoughtfully. You tell her, “I think I'm more of a ‘blue’ kind of girl, though.” 

“Ah, yes, you are! I can see that,” Chika replies in faux cheer, gaze never leaving the petal. “You-chan’s a blue girl! You hear that?” She tells it, shaking it up and down. “Get away from her, you! Stop hurting her, you little pink abomination!”

It’s dumb, but you are so… helpless to her. You’re endeared. She is too sweet. You love her. It hurts. You feel the petals rising in your throat again and can't hold back the violent cough that racks your body; racks your soul. 

Chika is abruptly alarmed, dropping the petal into the water to look at you with big, worried eyes. “You-chan…?”

“I’m okay!” You frantically reply, brushing stray flowers off your chest. “I’m fine, it’s nothing, don’t even worry about it!” You salute. She smiles, but it doesn’t quite look right.

Her orange braid bounces as she moves. In an instant, she is holding you. Her embrace is so soft, so warm. 

“It hurts.” Chika says, not looking at you. “It hurts me when you are in pain.”

“There's nothing you or I can do about this, Chika,” you answer quietly. 

“You're my best friend.” Her voice is watery, shaking as the waves crash against your legs. “I just want you to be happy.”

“I am happy to be here with you,” You say, and you mean it. 

“Who,” Chika whispers quietly, “who’s hurting you, You-chan?” Even quieter, she asks, “Can I fight them?”

You laugh again – Chika’s made a habit of keeping your mood afloat, it’s one of the reasons you love her so much. “No, you can’t. But I’m fine, really, everything's a-okay in Watanabe You’s world!” You salute again, and this time Chika laughs. She lets you go to twirl in the water, and you think she looks beautiful.

“Must be a nice world to live in,” She sighs. “You-chan all day, every day.”

“Don’t you get enough of that already?” You tease. “You’ve been clinging to me since we were kids.” 

“I would never get sick of you!”

You smile so hard it might even feel genuine, but your heart is still aching, reaching out as if Chika will magically fall in love with you the longer you talk. The closer you get, the further it seems. “Oh,  _ Chika _ -chan. ”

“Oh,  _ You _ -chan.”

This time you both laugh.

“Let’s head home,” Chika suggests, eyes bright. She tilts her head. “Or, your house? I meant your house. I’m inviting myself over. Is that okay?”

You grin. “Sleepover, just like old times?”

Chika nods eagerly. “Sounds like fun!” She’s skipping out of the water before you can think to take the words back, but then you think again and why would you? Maybe it hurts, but maybe it’s okay. For now, you don’t want to think about it anymore. You just want to be.

“Race you!” You yell as you blaze past Chika, and she shrieks as you splash onto the sand.

“Not fair!” Chika is on your heels – loosely speaking – as you race towards your house, feeling so much freer than you did before. 

Curiously, when you’re making your way back home, the flowers don’t constrict your throat at all. 


End file.
